Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi

A Suffolk Superior Court judge ordered developer Stephen Weiner to provide additional testimony in the 1000 Boylston project lawsuit after lawyers for Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish objected to “memory aids” used during an earlier deposition.

Fish is suing his former partner, Boston-based Weiner Ventures, for its role in the failed $800 million condominium project, to have been built on air rights above the Massachusetts Turnpike in Back Bay.

In February, Stephen Weiner sat for more than five hours of questioning by attorneys about his role in the project’s predevelopment phase, before the Massachusetts Department of Transportation canceled it in October 2019 as the Weiner-Fish partnership hit the rocks.

But attorneys for the plaintiffs objected to the format of the virtual deposition, citing written documents given to Weiner by his attorneys to prepare for his testimony.

During a hearing Thursday, Judge Kenneth Salinger ordered Weiner to sit for another two-and-a-half hours of questioning, the Boston Business Journal reported, commenting “what happened here was not appropriate.”

“We are pleased with the court’s thoughtful consideration and its decision that this misconduct warranted relief,” attorney Paul Popeo of Choate, Hall & Stewart, who represents the plaintiff, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Weiner Ventures declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.

In a March 21 court filing, Weiner Ventures attorney Mark Tully of Goodwin Procter stated that he provided Stephen Weiner with two “memory aids” for the deposition, including a list of people involved with the project and a chronology of key events.

“During preparation for Mr. Weiner’s deposition, it became apparent that, in light of his age and in particular his health, Mr. Weiner had difficulty remembering large and small details, and became agitated when he felt he should remember something but did not,” the filing stated.

The two sides had invested over $83 million in the Massachusetts Turnpike parcel 15 air rights project before its demise, according to testimony in the lawsuit.

In February, Salinger earlier sanctioned Weiner and his son Adam, an executive at the firm, for deleting texts and emails related to the project after Fish indicated that he was considering litigation in 2019.